State finally awards first legal weed shop licenses, but none in Central New York. Here’s why

More than a year-and-a-half after New York legalized adult recreational use of marijuana, it has finally approved licenses that will allow the first legal weed shops to open.

But none of those licensees are in Central New York. This area, along with the Finger Lakes, the mid-Hudson region, Western New York and Brooklyn, are shut out of this phase of retail licensing by a recent court order.

U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe this month issued the injunction blocking New York’s Office of Cannabis Management from issuing marijuana dispensary licenses in those five regions. That decision came after a lawsuit filed by a Michigan company challenging New York’s rule that the successful licensees must have a “significant presence” in the state.

The Michigan company, Variscite NY One, argued that provision violates the U.S. Constitution’s interstate commerce clause. That part of the Constitution is intended to keep states from interfering in commercial or business activity between states.

Variscite had identified Central New York and the other four regions as places where it had hoped to do business. Sharpe’s injunction only applied to those regions.

At a board meeting in Albany today, the OCM awarded 36 conditional retail licenses — 28 to business and eight to non-profits. All are in the four boroughs of New York City other than Brooklyn, as well as in Long Island, the Capital Region, the Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley and the North Country. (See list below).

Even those awarded licenses today can’t open immediately. They still must complete a secondary application to OCM. That includes a notification to the municipality where the dispensary will be located.

As part of the state’s commitment to “social equity,” this round of licenses were given only to business owners who had past marijuana convictions (or had family members with convictions). The non-profit licenses were reserved for those agencies serving such communities.

The state had 900 applicants for this round of what it calls the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program. It intends to award 175 such licenses, of which 150 go to individuals and 25 to nonprofits.

One of the applicants from Central New York is a company called The Higher Calling, founded last year by Mike Golden and Anthony Byron Cage. Golden and Cage, who have added another partner, qualify for CAURD by having been what is often called “justice involved,” (having had marijuana convictions.)

Golden said today he’s disappointed by the injunction and any other delays in THC getting a license to operate in Central New York. He thinks THC could have been “near the top” of the qualified applicants.

“I’m very happy for those that were awarded,” Golden said. “But there is still all this uncertainty for us right now. It makes it hard to plan, to talk to investors and get things moving. It’s just hard to know what’s going on.”

At its meeting today, the OCM also announced the long-awaited regulations that will govern the state’s legal marijuana marketplace.

Here’s a list of those award licenses in this round:

New York City

1. Nube NYC LLC

2. Carl M Anderson III

3. Royal Leaf NY

4. Gabbys Green LLC

5. CGG Enterprises Inc.

6. Suzanne M Furboter

7. Anthony Crapanzano

8. Smacked LLC

9. Gabriel Marin

10. Planet 51 LLC

11. Florisun LLC

12. Eastern Holdings 88 LLC

13. SAMJNY Holdings LLC

Capital Region

14. Stage One Cannabis LLC

15. D-Andrews LLC

16. Essential Flowers

17. Capital District Cannabis & Wellness Inc.

Southern Tier

18. William Durham

19. Union Chill Cannabis NY LLC

Mohawk Valley

20. Cured NY LLC

Long Island

21. Brian Stark Enterprises LLC

22. Albert D Capraro

23. Strain Stars LLC

24. Root 13, LLC

25. Growth Industries NY LLC

26. Keep it 100 LLC

27. Hydo Phonics

North Country

28. Brent L Rogers

Nonprofit CAURD licensees

29. Housing Works Cannabis, LLC – HOUSING WORKS

30. The Doe Store LLC – Doe Fund

31. Urban Weeds LLC – Urban Upbound

32. CWS Holdings I LLC — Challenge Industries

33. NYCCABUDS – Center for Community Alternatives

34. Kush & Kemet LLC – LIFE CAMPS

35. On Point Cannabis, INC. – Broome County Urban League

36. GOTHAM CAURD – STRIVE Inc.

See more New York cannabis news.

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at [email protected], or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.

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